University of Maryland-Baltimore County Top Questions

Name recognition depends on class size, and whether you make a name for yourself, and also the professor. Some of them don't remember you from one day to the next; some remember hundreds. Favorite class -- theatre makeup, partly because the instructor is a little crazy and partly because we made wax noses yesterday. Study habits -- depends on the people. Some do nothing but study, some never study. Class participation -- in theory required;in practice required only if the instructor notices you're not participating or has an objective system of determining whether you are. Students -- the smart ones have intellectual discussions. Theatre is a less competitive major than most (the production side, anyway) partly because a show is a group effort. I know a few people who all but have betting pools on who will fail out first, though. Most unique --see above; favorite. Major/department -- see above, competitiveness. Spend time with professors outside of class -- not really. Academic requirements -- somewhat nebulous and often confusing. Education -- I like learning for its own sake and I know my skills will land me a job. I don't really worry about what the classes are geared towards; a diploma is just a piece of paper anyway.

Academics at UMBC are held to a high standard. Professors are generally very interested in their field of study and interested in sharing what they know with their students. Many freshman courses are held in large lecture hall students which afford students little face-to-face time with their professors but as students declare majors and join departments it becomes much easier to gain a personal knowledge with their professors. Education at UMBC is very much geared towards job placement. There is an office on campus called the Shriver Center that schedules job fairs and brings employers to the campus to conduct interviews. They also manage a database of employers with internship or entry-level job opportunities.